


When we all fall asleep, where do we go?

by Orimau5



Category: Death Stranding (Video Games)
Genre: Affection, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But idk how long this will be, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, F/M, Fragile is super soft, Gore, Higgs is a confused dumb boy, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Peter was a neeerrrddd, Sam is a kinda a mega dick, Sam/higgs later on, Theyre all bad guys, ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:28:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21723760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orimau5/pseuds/Orimau5
Summary: Yo so an au where Higgs gets sent to a different dimension where Fragile and Sam are the bad guys and they are way better than Higgs ever was. Sam and Fragile got their shit together but Higgs is just confused tall boy.Listen I've been thinking of DS for weeks so I finally started writing things after running out of inspo to draw.Also apologizing in advance for how horribly written this is
Relationships: Fragile/Higgs Monaghan, Sam Porter Bridges/Fragile, Sam Porter Bridges/Fragile/Higgs Monaghan, Sam Porter Bridges/Higgs Monaghan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 77





	1. Chapter 1

Higgs woke laying face up to a starry sky. He felt no urge of panic or confusion as to where he was, only awe for the view above him. Dark purple and grey swirls over the black sky, littered with tiny clusters of white dots. It mesmerized him.

His attention is broken from the beautiful sight by the crunching of footsteps nearby. Rolling his head to the side, he sees a familiar man approaching him. It takes him a few seconds to realize it’s Sam. Sam Porter fucking Bridges. Great.

As Higgs lifts himself up from the ground, he realizes things seem different. They’re on a small island in what looks like the tar belt. Low hanging clouds cover the horizon all around. It almost feels like he’s on a beach. Wait. Is that what happened? Did Fragile send him to her beach? God, did he finally kill himself? He can’t remember much. He remembers his last fight with the Bridges brat and Amelie stripping his powers away. That hollowing feeling that filled his chest and burned through his veins. And then? Nothing.

His thoughts are interrupted as he notices the man a few meters from him. Sam. But not really?

It was definitely Bridges but with a new look. A cloak similar to Higgs's own, but dark green on the inner material, detailed with a silver Celtic border. What looked like a fur strap held the cloak loosely around his neck. He still wore a silver porters outfit, stained with black tar and glittery bits of red. Even his face was a little off, same clear blue eyes but dark shadows surrounding them. His dark brown hair and facial hair was grown out, thick locks poking from his open hood.

And then the BB still locked to his chest, screen blacked out inactively. There were black inky handprints covering the pod and most of Sam’s cloak.

As Higgs looked over his rivals new attire, he realized his own was different. He had a blue porter outfit, similar to Sam’s own. The backpack he’d seen Sam load up multiple times strapped to his back. He was even more surprised when he wiped his eyes with a gloved hand only to find no trace of the inky tar. This wasn’t him.

Now the panic and confusion kicked in as Higgs brought his shocked gaze to the other man.

“Peter?” Sam growled and gave the taller man a suspicious glare. Not something he expected. The name given to him by his parents before their demise. Why would Sam call him that?

“Sam?” Higgs said coyly trying to harness any power he had through clenched fists but to no avail. Not even the tar nearby moved.

Sam observed the scene with a questioning look. It made Higgs nervous.

“How are you back?” the odd looking porter asked. There was an almost hurt expression on his features that Higgs could see.

“Uh.. I don’t,” Higgs finds the question more than a little confusing, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. The name’s Higgs, by the way.”

He shrugs his shoulders with a timid chuckle. He knows he wouldn’t win a fight without the help of his powers right now. Hoping he could talk himself out of whatever is going on. Or possibly just give up? Be thrown in whatever prison Bridges had set up? The thought of being executed crosses his mind and it doesn’t bother him as much. Better than sitting in silence until he died, right?

“I know it’s you. We killed you nearly a decade ago.” Sam’s grizzly voice sends a chill down Higgs’s spine. Killed? “And you just appear after a storm? One of those time storms, I suppose? You don’t look much different, pretty boy.”

There’s a small smile that twitches at the shorter man’s lips as he speaks. It makes Higgs feel sick. A million questions race through his head. Nothing seems to add up. This isn’t the same Sam.

“Where am I?” Higgs voice comes out more shaken than he’d like. The bearded smile becomes a mischievous grin.

“Where do you _think_ you are?” Sam cocks his head to the side as he begins to slowly circle Higgs. “The UCA? The Beach?”

So many red flags are going off in his head. Sam’s looking at him like meat, prowling around him with confident steps. Higgs can feel his hands beginning to shake.

“The belt?” Higgs asks nonchalantly, ignoring Sam’s predatory behavior.

Sam stops in front of him, raising his eyebrows and placing thick gloved hands on his hips. “Well, technically, yes. This is where the shore _would’ve_ been, maybe ten years ago.”

Higgs looks out at what seemed like never ending black waves all around them. The disbelief must have shown on his face as Sam laughed dryly.

“Yeah, we did a good job, huh? Not even you could stop us.” Sam continues his pace around Higgs, who looks even more bewildered. This had to cover all central America. “You fought so hard to prevent this. The destruction of quite a few cities, swallowed up a few distribution centers. In the end you were swallowed up along with them. Was surprised that’s what brought you down. Figured after so many victorious battles with my beast, that it’d have to be pretty tough to kill you.”

It’s too much information for Higgs to take in. Who did he work with? Did they really accomplish what Higgs only did a smidge of himself? Was Peter.. trying to save everyone? 

“That’s not me.” Higgs says it mostly to himself but he feels Sam’s eyes on him. Those fierce blue eyes burning into him. “I’m not Peter. This is wrong. This isn’t what happened.”

Higgs can feel his voice growing louder and the confusion becoming too irritating. “ _You_ were trying to stop me. You beat me before you confronted Amelie. You won.”

Sam stops in front of Higgs again, confusion returning to his face. Its quickly replaced with a cocky smirk as he walks closer to the taller man.

Higgs can’t help but flinch when a hand quickly reaches out to grip the front of his jacket. A surprised noise escapes him as Sam pulls him closer. Their faces just inches apart.

“Fragile’s gonna enjoy seeing your pretty face again.” The words come out as a rough whisper before Sam closes the gap between them, sliding his tongue over the side of Higgs’s throat. What happened to him not being touchy feely.

Higgs’s stomach twists into a knot and his face heats up but before he can react they’re jumping through space and time. It feels longer than he remembers to jump, but as soon as it’s over, Sam is pulling away. The hand gripping the front of his jacket relaxes, lingering for a few moments.

Sam backs away and allows Higgs to access where they are. It takes a few seconds to realize they’re standing outside the entrance to South Knot City. There’s at least a hundred men within the gates, armed with assault rifles and heavy armor. The area around the city is more barren than Higgs last remembered. What looks like the edge of a crater is just within eyesight of the city, crumbling cliffs and boulders over what remained of dirt roads. He considers hightailing it but decides that’s pretty dumb being so close to possible enemies. But he is dumb enough to follow Sam into the city.

Higgs feels a twinge of envy as Sam walked him through the gates with a wave to a few of the guards. This is something Higgs could never have accomplished. It would’ve taken much longer for him to get this many people, and keep them alive. But here Sam was. Walking around the biggest separatist group Higgs had ever seen like he owned the place. The men that passed them seemed to visibly fear Sam. A few even gave Higgs a confused look but they quickly scurried off.

“Did you say Fragile earlier?” Higgs finally finds his voice when they enter one of the main buildings with the Bridges logo marked out with black paint.

“Yes, pretty boy,” Sam says almost playfully, “she’s still running the show. I only handle the dirty work.”

_This is so fucking crazy._ Higgs thinks to himself as he hums in acknowledgement. They enter an elevator and begin their descend into the main area of the building.

As soon as the doors open, Sam is leading Higgs past an unaccompanied desk, down multiple hallways. The building is mainly empty aside from a few guards and women dressed in medical or lab outfits, but they don’t pay them any mind as they walk.

After passing many doors, Sam finally enters a room at the end of a long hall. Higgs follows right behind and is met with soft blue eyes when he enters the room.

“Fragile.” Higgs speaks softly, a fond smile finding a way to his features. She looked gorgeous. Leaned back against a large desk, adorned in her usual black leather jacket and pants, her arms crossed angrily over her chest.

The smile broke when he seen the familiar gold half of his skull mask on her face. His source of power.

“So, Peter’s back.” Sam declares this like it’s normal as he plops down lazily on a couch in the corner of the office.

Fragile sighs with annoyance, “I know, Sam.”  
She rolls her eyes as she stands and makes her way across the room to Higgs, her tall black heels clacking loudly against the tile floors.

Higgs feels like he’s shrinking as she approaches him. Her confidence and ego smothering his on sight. He had never seen her hold herself like this. The cold look in her eyes said there was more behind her. In a blip of gold dust, the mask disappears, revealing a warm smile.

“Higgs Monaghan, right?” She places an ungloved hand under his chin, the unaged hand surprising him. “I bet this is very confusing.”

“What, is he cool now?” Sam calls out from the couch, face buried into soft fabric.

Fragile’s eyes close, Sam obviously testing her patience. She opens them again, pressing her lips together tightly before speaking again, “He’s not from here. They say he’s from another realm like the beach.”

She placed both her hands against his cheeks and Higgs does melt a bit, lowering his head heavily into her soft hands. He knew he always wanted this. To feel loved by her. To feel that forgiveness.

Before he can control himself he begins rambling. “I’m so sorry Fragile. I didn’t mean for you to get so dragged into what I was d-"

His words are cut off by a finger pressed gently to his lips. He looks up to a stern but sympathetic look.

“You’re apologizing to the wrong Fragile.” She smiles a little sadly. “I’m not the one you hurt.”

It hurts to hear that. That Higgs is entirely responsible for the hurt that his Fragile felt. It took a while for Higgs to accept what he did as his own decision and not one of Amelia’s commands. He could’ve told her no, face the consequences. He should’ve told her no.

Fragile’s hands suddenly leave his face and he catches himself leaning forward to find that comfort again.

  
“Why don’t you settle a bit and we’ll discuss more later. I’ve got some of my own questions to seek out.” She turns to Sam whose propped himself up on one elbow, resting his other hand over the BBs pod, still inactive.

“Watch out for him. Don’t forget to take care of those stray porters, too.” She leans down to press a tender kiss on his forehead, scratching his bearded chin with one hand.

  
Higgs is caught off guard but stays silent. He feels like a sad lost puppy. He doesn’t want her to leave. Not when he just got to feel her warmth again. A little different, but still warm. And yet Sam gets it. Of course, he gets her attention.

He doesn’t realize he’s glaring until she’s walking back to him closing the distant between them to wrap her arms around him. He wastes no time to hug her back, enjoying her scent and soft touch. Her blonde hair tickles at his face as he tightens his grip.

He doesn’t let go until he catches Sam’s stern and possibly protective glare.

“You’re safe here. Just stay out of trouble and do as Sam says.” She pats his chest gently before checking her chiral bracelet. “I’ll see you two in a while. Have fun.”

And just like that, she’s gone in a burst of silver dust.

Higgs sighs heavily looking down at his feet. God, he felt so many things right now. What exactly was going on? This definitely wasn’t his world. Not his Fragile.

Sam stands and slowly approaches the taller man. “No worries, man. This is just as confusing to me as it is you.”

He claps a hand firmly on Higgs’s shoulder. “Why don’t we distract ourselves with some chaos, or are you still too good for that?”

Higgs feels a troublesome grin form on his feature. He couldn’t deny his personal joy of spreading mayhem. Who knows, maybe it could possibly help him adapt to this crooked world.

“That sounds nice.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Higgs try to be friends??  
> Some laughs happen  
> BT magic  
> Yo some mild gore

Higgs almost feels a bit of excitement as they jump. Maybe this was okay? It wasn’t what he was used to but it’s kind of what he wanted. Right? The Sam thing is a bit different. That would definitely take a little more time to fully adjust to.

They jump to an area that Higgs isn’t familiar with. Standing at the edge of a cliff he sees a river down below with a rusty bridge barely standing over the rushing waves. There’s a few dusty roads scattered around the bridge and what appears to be a broken generator, rusted and partially fallen apart.

Sam takes in a deep breath and sighs loudly. “Smell that fresh air while you can, pretty boy.”

God, that nick name. Higgs doesn’t know how long he can handle hearing it.

“Did P-Peter really let you call him that?” It feels weird to say his own name. Knowing it refers to this ‘hero’ version of himself. But also to himself. However, he knew his name. Higgs. The name he was given when his life was given a purpose. A use to a higher power. Bullshit, right? But he believed in it when it was happening. Felt the power and the need to worship someone other than himself.

“Nah,” Sam’s voice breaks through Higgs’s thoughts, “he fucking hated it. Used to make him so mad.”

Sam smiles, but it’s almost sorrowful. He sighs again, a lot quieter than earlier, adjusting the fur strap holding his cloak around his shoulders.

“So,” Higgs mutters anxiously, “were you two close to Peter?”

The question seems to startle Sam. He looks at Higgs for a moment with a bit of hurt on his features. The shorter man gives him a small smile. One that seems tired underneath all the glory and victories.

“I guess you really aren’t Peter.” Sam avoids the question as he returns his gaze to the rushing water.

“Sorry, but no.” Higgs shrugs and slumps a smidge. “Although, we both did fail miserably at our jobs, I guess.”

The loud abrupt laughter from Sam causes a smile of his own to form. A strong hand grips his shoulder tightly, pulling him down to Sam’s level. He didn’t seem to have a problem touching anymore. Or maybe ever for this Sam.

“Y’all are way too different. Yeah, same pretty boy face, but you’re like Peter’s rejected twin.” Sam’s practically standing on his tip toes as he wraps an arm around the taller man’s shoulders. “You’re definitely the funny one, though.”

“Oh, god. Peter was a boring goody two shoes?” Higgs says dramatically, a few chuckles between his words. “Poor fucker."

Sam’s wheezing now, his spare arm gripping the pod as if it were his stomach. Higgs can’t stop the fit of giggles he gets hearing Sam laugh.

_This is fucking ridiculous._

“Jesus. He talked like a fucking robot. Always rambling about science and those stupid Q-pids.” Sam musters between the laughter as he releases Higgs, leaning down to rest his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

“Great. My hero twin was a nerd. No wonder he died.” It almost sounds too harsh as Higgs says it, but Sam nearly doubles over.

He didn’t think the original Sam could even laugh this hard. The noise is harsh and gritty but it also sounds warm. He seems genuinely happy.

Sam points a finger up at Higgs, containing his laughter. “Does that make you the dumb rebel?”

Higgs mouth falls open, mocking an offended look. He places a had on his chest dramatically. “At least OG Sam didn’t have a rat’s nest on his face.”

Sam seems confused for a few seconds but continues to chuckle. He straightens up, smoothing his beard with a gloved hand.

“Hey, it’s nice when it’s cold. Besides,” He smiles smugly at the taller man, “Fragile loves it.”

Higgs froze. Staring at Sam with wounded steely blue eyes.

Higgs doesn’t fully register the strong feelings that stop him in his thoughts. Envy. Regret? Maybe even brave enough to think it’s jealousy.

Sam watches Higgs stand motionless. The confused and angry look in his eyes, twisting his features as he glares at the ground.

“I take it ‘OG Fragile' has some rough history with you.” Sam seems more curious now than cocky. He steps a bit closer with an intrigued look.

Higgs clears his throat then nods quickly, trying his best to clear his head. Might as well get this over with. “I used our delivery companies to smuggle guns and bombs to terrorists. After blowing up Middle Knot City she fought against me. Made her run through timefall only wearing a mask to save South Knot City. She succeeded and later worked with Sam to.. uh, take me down.”

It doesn’t bother to talk about it, he remembers boasting to his men for weeks after it happened. Despite the horrible nightmare that clawed at his thoughts. The deep guilt that kept him up at night, making it hard to sleep. Hard to eat. Admitting he failed after he put his all into it was a little harder.

“Ah, I see.” Sam’s eyes are focused more on the roads now as he speaks. “Were you trying to cause the sixth extinction?”

“Yeah. I was helping Amelie in exchange for power and a role to play.” God, he sounded pathetic. The EEs little errand boy that fucked up.

“Then I believe you were doing what was best. Anything that gets in the way should be removed.” Sam says nearly prideful.

Higgs stares in disbelief. This Sam was definitely devoted to his work.

“Even if your Fragile chose the other team? What would you do?” Higgs asks mainly to compare. What would this Sam do? Would he handle it better than Higgs did?

Sam doesn’t hesitate, meeting Higgs’ gaze. “I would follow. I’m not loyal to the Bridges, or the UCA, or even the EEs. Only her. Where she goes I follow. If she wants to destroy the world then I’ll help her destroy the world. She wants to save it? Then I’ll help her save it.”

“Loyalty? Is that why you turned against humanity?” Higgs sounds almost offended.

Sam looks insulted, giving the other man a intimidating glare. He straightens up, sizing himself up to Higgs dominantly. Although there’s nearly a foot and a half difference between the two, Sam is definitely scary. The dark circles around his icy eyes made it so much worse.

The intimidation works, Higgs looking away and raising his hands defensively. So much for staying out of trouble.

Sam opens his mouth to respond but there’s a distant whir of an engine. A Bridges truck comes speeding through a nearby trench, heading straight towards the bridge.

“Show time, pretty boy.” Sam says raising a hand seemingly forgetting the entire rough situation that was just seconds ago. His arm gets enveloped in black smoke and grows stronger in a short time. Black inky tears begin to fall from the blue eyes, despite the maniacal grin he held.

Higgs knew this all too well, taking a couple large steps back. The power seemed to flow easily to Sam. Bits of tar and BTs rising from the ground. No timefall though. He wondered if Sam had better control of that, too.

He stood still as the well known feeling of inky oil began to rise around his legs. The area around them began to flood with tar, overflowing over the edge of the cliff and down onto the roads.

The porters seemed to be aware as the truck sped up to the bridge. The flashing red lights on the wheels blinked rapidly, showing the poor condition of the vehicle.

“Go get ‘em.” Sam points the black engulfed hand towards the fleeing porters.

Higgs wondered for a few seconds if he was referring to him. He had no powers and unfortunately wasn’t very skilled in hand to hand combat. Also not very good at chasing down runaway cars. He was honestly a shitty henchman.

It takes a moment until Higgs understands, though. Watching a large mass begin to crawl its say out of the thick liquid. The black blob of tentacles ripples to life, taking the form of a large canine-like beast. A gold melted mask melded to its face, cracked up the center with sunken holes for the eyes it didn’t appear to have.

It roared loudly, bottom jaw unhinging to show large crooked teeth, vibrating the area with its intense sound. Higgs covered his ears in an attempt to shield off the noise, but Sam seemed unbothered. The BT took a few large steps before jumping down the side of the cliff, quickly in pursuit of the truck.

“Good boy!” Sam calls out, lowering his hand to drag his hands through the tar. He seems pleased watching his creation get closer to the goal.

“That’s.. impressive.” Higgs admits as he treads through the tar to stand next to the shorter man, still a little cautious of angering him.

“Yeah, wait until he gets to them.” Sam says gleefully. He’s watching closely as the BT finally clashes into the truck much smaller than itself, throwing them both to the side.

Higgs is a little compelled when it begins ripping the men from the truck with heavy clawed paws. It doesn’t hold back as it closes large jaws around the middle of one of the porters, eliciting painful screams from the man.

“So what about voidouts?” Higgs asks nervously. He didn’t want to be around when that happened. Not exactly sure what would even happen to him during one of the explosions.

“Don’t worry, man,” Sam turns from the gruesome view to place another hand on Higgs shoulder, “I got you.”

Higgs can feel his face grow warmer when Sam gives him a playful wink before turning back to his chiral pet. The hound is busy tearing the roof off the truck after losing interest in the dying man, quickly diving his snout into the cab. It snaps its jaws a couple times before the sound of an agonized scream affirms the BTs success as it drags the other porter from the truck by his legs.

Higgs is caught up with the scene, mesmerized by the gory details. It had been a while since he had seen so much blood. Images of his uncle passing through his head.

_This is what I wanted._

The beast shakes the man around for a good while, the screaming faded away already. It slams the body to the ground with an awful crunching noise that Higgs is surprised they’re close enough to hear. The BT hound grips the legs again and jerks its prey up, throwing the body into the air. Its head poised underneath as it begins to fall, jaws opening wide for its rewards.

“Time to go, pretty boy.” Sam grabs Higgs’s arm, startling the man from the ‘show'.

_I couldn’t do this._

There’s only a few seconds as Higgs watches the jaws encase the body before everything is blurred by the jump.

**Author's Note:**

> So idk how much of this I will write but theres def a second chapter coming. Thanks for reading!


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